Today, ASUS has officially unveiled their brand new budget tablet at MWC 2013. The device has many similarities with the Nexus 7, the Google tablet also developed by ASUS a while back. The 7-inch tablet is competitively priced and handles both data and voice calls over 3G. Also, in terms of hardware, the tablet also has a lot to offer, by providing users with a lot of power. It’s not as cheap as the previously announced Asus MeMo Pad, though.

So, it’s basically a cheap tablet that also supports 3G, which means you’re able to take phone calls with it. It comes with Android 4.1, which isn’t the latest version, but the upgrade should be possible. The HD IPS display allows for wide viewing angles and good clarity. Jonney Shih, ASUS Chairman:

It is ideal to have a larger screen with entertainment, social media and other online activities now playing an increasingly important part in our mobile lifestyles. The incorporation of 3G mobile data with full telephony support, makes the Fonepad the perfect combination of a tablet and phone in one single device.

ASUS Fonepad: specifications and features

The device is powered by an Intel Atom Z2420 processor, clocked at 1.2 GHz and besides this, it has 1 GB of RAM. The 7-inch tablet has the same gorgeous 1,280 x 800 display as the Nexus 7 tablet, powered by a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The Fonepad comes in two flavors, one having 8GB of internal memory, which will be available in the US and it will feature a 3 MP rear facing camera. However, the Europe version which comes with an integrated 16 GB of memory has no rear facing camera.

A microSD card slot is also available, which users can fill with up to 32GB. The battery is said to keep the Fonepad going for 9 straight hours, but we’ll see if this will prove to be true once the revies will pour in. The UK launch of the ASUS Fonepad will be somewhere between April and June, and the price will start at $249 for the 8GB version. At this time however, there is no news on the US release for the Fonepad, but we’ll come back with information as soon as we find anything out. Here’s the entire rundown of Fonepad’s technical profile:

Ionut Nedelcu Author I often wonder, where is technology heading? What do all of these advances mean for us and for our future? I sometimes miss the days when I didn’t know how to use a floppy disk, or how a computer CPU works, but now, until I find an answer to my questions, I’ll keep tracking these advances and show everything I find to those who share my interests.